What do you think of my ideas to make the IRL and Indy 500 more popular?

Question

1) Take restrictions off the cars. Let the drivers decide how fast is safe and what is unsafe. Is 225 really safer than 240? No.
2) Get the drivers hating each other. Half the reason I watch NASCAR is for the confrontations between the drivers. You don't need everyone at each others throats every week but show me that you want to beat the other guy.
3) Increase the purses. The Masters golf tournament pay 1.3 million to the winner and his expenses are basically travel. He gets his equipment for free. Make first prize at the Indy 500 10 million dollars. That will bring interest from competitors back.
4) Increase the length of the race. When the 500 was started, 500 miles was a test of man and machine, now any one can go 500 miles in their car. Make it 750 or 1000 miles and that will be a test of equipment and driver skill and stamina.

Answer 1

They've had restrictions on engines since the 50's.Normally aspirated had a bigger cubic inch than turbocharged.First it was a USAC rule.One of the reasons for the split in the first place was the ENGINE RULES.CART was using different engines for all of their races,then had to deal with USAC's rules for the INDY500.Car owners didn't like the fact that they had to have a different set of rules for the one race that was sanctioned by USAC.The IRL has also gone through a variety of engine packages determined by displacement,turbo/non-turbo etc.The current engine package(HONDA) will probably be around for a while.

Answer 2

Helio Castroneves will start the May 27 Indianapolis 500 from the pole position, having posted a speed of 225.817 mph. During, arguably a popular era for the race, 1990, Emerson Fittipaldi was on pole with a 225.301; I think that fact negates your suggestion/arguement for promoting faster speeds. Lapping the Indianapolis track at, perhaps 10 mph faster doesn't necessarilly guarantee an increase in popularity. I would argue that the vast majority of the spectators wouldn't notice an increase in speed, when cars are travelling in excess of 200 mph.
As for drivers hating each other, that could be a recipe for disaster in any open-wheel series, especially one that races on ovals.
Increasing the purse is probably a good idea as some of the lesser teams could/would use the prize money to finance at least part of the rest of the season. Following the collapse of the CanAm series, when asked why he only raced once a year, the late Jim Crawford said his winnings at the Indy 500 were more than enough to allow him to spend much of the rest of the year pursuing his other passion, deep sea fishing.
Increasing the length of the Indy 500 isn't a good idea at all.
I don't necessarilly agree with him, but Ron Dennis once said the race was 490 miles of posing and 10 miles of racing.
Without a driver change, I don't think a 1000-mile race is a practical proposition.
True, he only has a marginal interest in racing, but a friend who has been to the Indy 500 became bored with the race after a little more than 100 miles. I think there would be a lot of really bored people if the race was lengthened to your suggested 750 or 1000 miles.

Answer 3

none of that matters few people remember why the Indy 500 was the greatest spectacle in motor racing, it has nothing to do with how big the purse was, it wasn't the millage traveled le mans has always been far longer, driver character was a small part but not fighting,

it used to be a stand alone race, where anyone could build or buy a car and take a go at qualifying, that's why "bubble day"
was once a big deal, you had regular Indy drivers, can am, formula 1, stock car, and even a few local boys who mortgaged the house to get into the race,

even before that it was part of the 6 races that made up the "world championship of drivers"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One#Outside_the_World_Championship

all this has passed now its just the 3rd or 4th race in a spec series, watch and see how ABC or ESPN will try and tell us how important this race is, it didn't used to need an explanation, that alone should tell you something

these changes were what sparked the split between cart and irl, and don't hold your breath for a fix any time soon,

Answer 4

Only the purse idea is a good one. The restrictions are needed, ask Davey Hamilton, Ryan Briscoe, Kenny Brack about that. You can't have the drivers taken cheap shot at each other on the track ,it's just not safe. And the 1000 mile race idea isn't a good one either, that almost if not the lenght of so Grand-Am or ALMS races, a good alternative is to have a triple crown of three, 500 mile race. One made up of the Indy 500 and two other races, with the prize beening $1,000,000- $10,000,000 dollars if you sweep all three events. Also I think that Indy qualifying and some practices should be under the lights to help bring in primetime ratings.

Answer 5

HMMMMM

1. I did like Indy better when the cars weren't restricted, but I would have to say that the 15 mph difference between 225 & 240 is pretty extreme. Those cars can only disipate so much energy as they slam into the wall. I'd love to go back to green flag passes for the lead, but I don't think it will ever return to that.

2. That may work,

3. That could help, but wouldn't the car owner just get more money? Indy already gets some of the best drivers in the world racing there. I enjoy the story lines when Nascar drives try to drive both races.

4. increasing the length would be cool, maybe just 750 or 800.

Answer 6

I think you have some good ideas, but the whole point of the Indy 500 is that it's NOT a NASCAR race. Different crowds go to different races, and I can tell you, the 3 crowds we get for the 3 races in Speedway are extremely different. But, that's what makes it fun. The Indy 500 is based largely on tradition, and if you start changing things around, people get mad. I mean, really, the "Indy 675" just doesn't have the same ring to it. No, the 500 isn't what it used to be, adn it will never be again, but then again, NASCAR isn't what it used to be either. I think a lot of the problems with the racing series of today are caused by people changing too much. Happy Racing!

Answer 7

If you want to increase the speeds at INDY you need to watch time trials in person and sit in turns 1 or 4. Turn one lets you see how hard it is to take a 90 degree corner at 225mph. Turn 4 lets you see what its like going from 210 to 225 on a 90 degree corner, plus you get a first hand look at the impact and damage of a car hitting the wall at that speed.

I have been to 20+ time trials and to 10+ races, I have seen a lot in that time.

I have a better idea on how to make the INDY 500 more popular, but am working with national sponsorship currently on this project, so I am unable to comment on this at this time.

PS- I have had a college buddy actually race in the 500, not too many people can say that. Plus his father owned a team that has won the INDY 500, how cool is that?

Answer 8

"Is 225 really safer than 240?"

Excellent point, if not for the fact that it's an utterly stupid thing to say. Here's a newsflash from someone who works in the sport -- the POS cars the IRL runs aren't safe at 225 mph, much less 240 mph. Go ask somebody who had his spinal column snapped in two in one of those shitboxes -- there are plenty of guys available who fit the description.

I quit reading after that, but it doesn't matter anyway. The IRL product sucked in 1996, it sucks now, and it will suck until the IRL ceases to exist because the series is run by a cadre of dopes and morons who have no more business running open-wheel racing than my mother does. If you want to make the Indy 500 more popular, the best you can do is pray for Tony George to take a dirt nap ASAP so we can get *everybody* in open-wheel back under the same tent again.

Answer 9

The problem with open wheel racing is they struggled in the early 90s with so few American drivers. Foyt, Unser, Andretti (sorta) were all retiring and being replaced by people from other parts of the world that we dont relate to. Splitting the series not only divided the fans in half but some gave up all together on open wheel racing. They need some American drivers, combine the series again, and cheaper ticket prices to get people to take a chance on going to the races.
1. wont work
2. would help
3. wont work, would cause even higher prices and piss of the few fans they have.
4. shorten races. people get bored and dont want to watch a 6 hour race these days. make them 300 mile races except Indy.

Answer 10

1. Won't work
2. Could make things more interesting
3. Owners would just get richer
4. Hard to mess with tradition..Increasing the 500 would really tick a lot of people off.

What open-wheel really needs is to reunite under one system, one set of rules, and increase the season...Better marketing would help as well..Use your assets: Danica, Tony, Helio and a few others..Get the word out about open-wheel..A lot of friends I have are into NASCAR and have no idea about open-wheel racing.